Spectrometers and monochromators are known which accept a beam of spectroscopic electromagnetic radiation and disperse it into a spatially expanded spectrum of wavelengths which are individually monitored. It is also known to direct a beam of electromagnetic radiation onto a surface area of a sample and then image electromagnetic radiation reflecting from different locations of the sample by an array of detectors, such as by use of an imaging ellipsometer or the like system. It is further known that chopping beams can provide benefits.
Further, Digital Light Processors (DLP) are known and have been applied to modulate homogeneous light applied thereto and generate images thereby, however, DLP's are not believed to have been applied to, for instance, process images projected thereonto, such as those produced by incident electromagnetic radiation reflecting from a sample in systems such as ellipsometers, polarimeters, reflectometers spectrophotometers or the like which typically apply detectors with a multiplicity of detector elements, such as charge coupled devices (CCD's).
U.S. patents which have been identified are:
U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,126,682; 7,265,766; 7,262,817; 7,252,395; 7,236,150; 7,233,427; 7,196,740; 7,194,169; 7,187,484; 7,164,397; 7,158,180; 7,149,027; 7,116,459; 7,088,486; 7,075,643; 7,072,094; 7,061,512; 7,019,881; 7,011,415; 7,006,995; 6,975,629; 6,965,470; 6,691,194; 6,937,382; 6,930,983; 6,906,852; 6,906,687; 6,870,660; 6,857,751; 6,856,446; 6,842,549; 6,781,094; 6,758,571; 6,741,503; 6,665,110; 6,654,516; 6,619,804; 6,618,186; 6,583,921; 6,558,006; 6,496,477; 6,459,425; 6,398,389; 6,298,370; 6,275,271; 6,259,153, 6,200,646, 6,179,489; 6,163,363, 6,105,119; 6,061,049; 5,932,119; 5,909,559; 5,658,559; 5,658,063; 4,114,366.
Published US applications which have been identified are:
US2005/001820; US2006/0220562; US2005/0079386; US2002/0024640; US2003/0143131; US2004/0023368; US2002/0081582; US2003/0138363; US2006/019757; US2004/0035690; US2003/0020703; US2006/0197757; US2004/0159641; US2003/0186427; US2003/0019852; US2002/0041420; US2003/0003032; US2001/0010843; US2005/0251230; US2005/0213092; US2006/0134669; US2002/0171834; US2003/0054388; US2006/0028718; US2003/062802; US2003/062802; US1999/041007; US2006/096310; US2005/030470; US2004/008115; US1999/010866; US1997/025177; US1999/063385; US2001/014460; US2005/030328; US2005/031292; US2002/084238.
Published Foreign Applications which have been identified are:
EP1070823; EP1258288; EP00916981; GB0232903.
What is to be new, novel and non-obvious is:                to apply digital light processors (DLP) to the end that a spectrum of wavelengths, or a multiplicity of regions on a sample imaged onto a DLP, can be sequentially monitored by at least one detector element, sequential output from which is then interpreted or as corresponding to a sequence of different wavelengths and/or different locations on a sample surface; and        to apply digital light processors (DLP) in systems such spectrometer, monochromator, and imaging ellipsometer, imaging polarimeter, imaging reflectometer, imaging spectrophotometer and the like imaging systems;        to apply digital light processors (DLP) to chop electromagnetic beams.        